User-Generated Content in Marketing
When you create social media content for your brand, you’ll usually create images, videos, or reels of your product or service. Now, user-generated content can be the most valuable advertising your brand will receive.
Customers have become the most truthful kind of advertising for brands. The reason why is very simple: through user-generated content actual customers or users of the service provide their experiences on their social media platforms with an audience that already trusts their opinion.
When making a purchase decision, it’s been proven that potential users trust more in the reviews of actual customers than the content for social media created by the brand.
Different types of user-generated content
As stated previously, it’s easier than ever to generate social media content. A cellphone is all you need to create several types of engaging content. We will cover the top 4 types of user-generated content.
Social media posts
Social media posts are the main content created by users all over the world. It was the first one that appeared, and its popularity still remains. Something as simple as the picture of what you order in a restaurant can create engagement. In some cases, a user can create more professional-looking images using platforms that are very easy to use. A great example of this would be ContentLamp.com. By providing the image and copy we want in our post, Content Lamp will automatically create different original posts.
Video content
The social platform that most people use for video content would be YouTube. However, over the last couple of years, video format was included on other platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
Reviews and Comments
User-generated content does not have to be an image or a video. Going on a company’s website and leaving a review about your experience when you stay in a hotel on vacation for future guests. The comment on an image is also content that will help other users know about your opinion on something. As we stated previously, future users will trust the content generated by one user for another user than content generated by the brand.
Hashtag Campaign
Hashtag campaigns can be any kind of content generated by the user, either a picture or a video. The most important characteristic of this kind of content is that it will be identified by a hashtag, that could be trending or created by a brand. All the users' content created and identified with the same hashtag will be stored together on the social media platform. Hashtags are a good way of looking for social media users with the same interest as yours.
How User-Generated Content Can Benefit your Brand
Future customers trust users' testimonies about a brand. Here are the top 3 ways your brand can encourage user-generated content:
Ask for reviews
Whether your brand offers a product or service, make sure to encourage your customers to leave a review. Customer experiences are an important part of generating user content and brand recognition. Social media platforms provide an easy way for users to give their opinions, the good and the bad. It’s important to follow up with good customer service for any bad reviews and turn them around.
Create Brand Recognition
There are social media users that have gained popularity, not for being famous movie stars or singers but as influencers. They made a career out of sharing content about their lives on social media. Working with influencers is an excellent way for your brand to get recognition.
Create a Community of Fans
If your brand is popular on social media and your customers share content, and experiences and engage with future new customers, you have to make sure to acknowledge that community and from time to time maybe offer special benefits just for the biggest fans of your brand.
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